Guitar Today

What is a capo

A capo is a small device that clips on to the neck of your guitar to change the pitch or key. Capos are most popular among acoustic guitarists. The basic function is so you can play in a different key without having to play barre chords. Instead of barring your fingers across that big acoustic neck, which is known to be a little more difficult than an electric guitar, you clip on a capo and play open chords like G and E major. Another common usage for the capo was for 12 string guitars. Originally 12 string guitar were not meant to be tuned higher than one whole tone below standard tuning. This reduced stress on the strings. With a capo, 12 string guitarists could bring their guitars into tune with 6 string guitars. Nowadays we have ultra lite strings that can usually handle the stress of a standard tuned 12-string.

How to use a capo

If you clip the capo onto the third fret of your guitar, the third fret becomes your zero fret or open fret. Your open notes are now G,C,F,A#,D,G instead of E,A,D,G,B,E.

Creating a makeshift capo

With a little bit of know-how and some things around the house, you can make your own DIY guitar capo. You’ll need one or two strong elastics and a pencil or similar shaped wood or metal dowel.

• Loop the elastics around one end of the pencil a few times and twist them so they are snug.
• Place the pencil across your fretboard so it is parallel with the fret you want to capo.
• Pull the loose ends of the elastic(s) around the back of the neck a secure them onto the other end of the pencil.

Your end result should be something like this.

Pretty clever eh?

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